Electric sign



W. C. WEBB.

ELECTRIC SIGN.

APPLICATION FILED MAY?, 1921.

Patented Aug. 9, 19ml.

z--- w Y. di

`leefwssr orties WILLIAM c. WEBB, or ATLANTIC Grrr, NEW JERSEY.

nrinc'rnrefsreiv. t

Speccation 0f Letters Patent. PguJtQu-fb-@d L-Mg; g, 192i Application filed May '7, 1921. Serial No. 457,596.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JVrLLn-mr C. titans, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlantic City, in the county of Atlantic and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Signs, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to electricsigns, and particularly to those signs in which electric lamps are disposed in a trough which is formed in the shape of a letter, character, emblem, scroll or other devicey to be illuminated, this trough being painted kwith the predominating color of the letter.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a construction of this character which has an illuminated border of a color contrasting with or harmonizing with the color of the letter itself.

And a further object is to provide an illuminatedletter comprising an inner troughshaped body within which electric lamps are disposed, an outer trough-shaped body delining a border around the letter, the interior of which is painted of a contrasting color to that of the interior of the first named trough-shaped body, and provide means whereby the light of the lamps disposed inthe first named body may be directed against the painted interior ofthe secondtrough-shaped body# Y Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a front elevation of an illuminated letter constructed in accordance with my invention, the illuminated letter forming part of a sign;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 thereof.

Referring to these figures, 10 designates 'the base of the letter, which may be of any suitable character and of any suitable color. Upon this base is disposed a trough-shaped body 11 which is made of metal and which is provided with sockets 12 for the reception of the electric lamps 13 in the usual manner. The interior of this trough-shaped body 11 may be painted white or any other desired color. Exterior to the wall of the troughshaped body 11 is an outer wall 14 which may have the same form as that of the body 11, though this is not an absolute necessity, and the interior this body 14, that is the exterior of the body 11, and outer wall of thel body 14 arel to be painted of a color contrasting with orharmonizing with the color used on the interior ofthe body il.

The wall of the body 11 is pierced at intervals, as at 15, so that light from the lamps 13 will be directed vagainst the bottom and side walls of the exterior trough-shaped body and illuminate these walls. Preferably theseopenings 15 are disposed adjacent the bottom of the body 11so that a good illulmination will be secured at the bottom of the border. I do not wish vto be limited to any particular shape for these openings 15, though preferably'they are circular, but they might be of any desired shape which would perform the function of permitting the ght from the lamps 13 to be discharged against the "bottom vof the border. Preferably the wall of the inner trough-shaped'body 11 will v be lowerthan the outer wall 14, and under ordinary circumstances there is about 3,- diiierence between the two walls, The lamps 13 project outwardbeyond the edge of the wall of the body- 11 so that these lamps will illuminate the rupper margin oflthe outeiA wall 14.v Ubviously as many lamps as may be desired may be disposed within thefbody 11, and obviously the form, proportions and number ofthe openings V15 may be varied within wide limits. Obviously the shape of the ,wall of the body 11 andthe wall of the body 14'Vmay-be changed in .aflarg'e variety of ways. n

l have illustrated my invention as being embodied in the letter 1, but l do not wish to be limited to this, as it is' perfectly obviousthat any other letter might be so embodied or any desired numeral might be so embodied, or that this method of forming letters might equally well be applied to the formation of any other desired figure, character or emblem.

With this construction, the middle portion of the letter is brilliantly illuminated in the usual manner, while surrounding this illuminated middle portion there is a partially illuminated border of a. color harmonizing or contrasting with the highly illuminated portion. Thus assuming that the bottom and inside face of the sides of the trough-shaped body are paintedwhite and that the outer face of the wall of the body i so Y border Which is more .or less -in shadow be.-

ll, the inner face of the Wall 14 and the bottom of the space between the Wall 14 and the wall l1 are painted-yellow, then upon the energizing of the lamps a letter will be presented having a brilliantly illuminated White central portion with .a more or less ,golden or yellow border. It the lightv from the lamps l'wvas not discharged against the border, this border would not show its'V illuminated border.

lt will be noted that this constructiQn provides for an illuminated letter or nligure in which the central portion ,of the 1letter or gure is brilliantly illuminated, 4While .the border` has' a modilied illumination so that the border in a sense has a half-tone value relative to the middle org'center, .of the .let-

ter or figure. Furthermore, in daylight the outer and inner Walls define between them a cause of the y'fact that the `outer ,andl inner Walls are relatively close together` .21s .com-

' pared 'to the distance acrossy the inner trough-like member, and .thus even in the ydaylight the letter is Well deined its border of more or less shadow,V

Iclaimz-W j 1. An illuminated figure for ,electric signs comprising an inner, approximately vtroughshaped'body, an outer trough-shaped ,body

surrounding the first named trough-shaped body and extending slightly beyond the latter, and illuminating means disposed Within the inner'trOugh-shaped body, there being perforations throughl the Wall of .the

inner trough-shaped body adjacent.. the bot- A tom thereof-whereby the light of said lamps may be discharged into the space between the outer and inner bodies to `thereby illuminate the Walls of said space.

2. An illuminated'igure for electric signs shaped body, .an Outer surrounding troughshaped body, the inner face of the inner trough-shaped `body having av certain color `and the Walls of the space defined by the outer .troughshaped body and the j inner trough-shaped body having a ,contrasting Icolor, and lamps disposed at intervals Within the inner ,trough-shaped body, the wallcomprising an inner, approximately troughof the inner trough-'shaped body having i openings yadjacent the; bottom thereof through which the light of said lamps is discharged into the space .between the in- L ner andouter bodies and against thebottom `of said space,

` 3. An illuminated `figurefor electric signs comprisingan inner, approximately trough- ,shaped body,an outer surrounding troughshaped body, the ,innerl tace of the inner trough-shaped body having a, certain ,color and the Walls of the space defined bythe outer trough-shaped body and .the inner troughshaped body having a contrasting color, and lamps .disposed at intervals Within theinner trough-shaped body, thejwall of the inner Vtrougli-shapedV body having openings through which thelightof ysaid lamps is discharged into the space between the inner and outer bodies, the inner..fbody having its Wall of-,slightly less height than the VWall of the outer body, therlarnpsprojecting beyond the Vwall of .the `inner body but not beyond the Wall. oftheouter body whereby the light .ofsaid Alamps Will be directed against the upper portion of the outer Wall of the outer troughshapedbody In testimony whereof I 'hereunto aliiX my signature. 

